Bookrests and the like



May 10, 1949. MURPHY BOOK RESTS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 5, 1945 Inventor I :aqsue Mural &

ttorney Patented May 10, 1949 UNITED BOOKRESTS AND THE LIKE Eugene Murphy, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Application August 3, 1945, Serial No. 608,645 In Great Britain September 18, 1944 4 Claims.

This invention relates to rests or supports for papers, books and the like and in particular to copyholder for use by typists.

The object of the invention is to provide an appliance which is of simple and compact construction, adapted for use with different kinds of copy and in a number of different positions.

According to this invention a copyholder coniprises two plates pivotally connected together near their upper ends, a transverse paper holder or line guide and slots in the front plate adjacent to the guide through which project feed rollers carried by the rod which forms the pivot. The pivotal rod preferably has an operating knob at each end so that it and the rollers it carries can be rotated to feed the sheet which lies between the paper holder and the front plate. In addition a detachable tie is provided and this is preferably in the form of a plate-like link pivotally connected to the lower end of the front plate and provided with notches to engage lugs which project from the ends of a slot in the rear plate or strut. A detachable book rest is mounted in the slot which carries the pivoted end of the tie and the whole device can be folded flat and retained in its folded position by means of the paper holder.

The device can be used to support an ordinary bound book, a loose leaf notebook or a single page, the paper holder enabling the bound end of the book either to be supported on the book rest or for the book to be suspended from the upper edge of the front plate in a manner to be described. When single sheets are used these can be advanced line by line when the rollers are turned so that the edge of the holder forms a line guide. The angle between the front and back plates is varied by adjusting the tie. The plates can be formed of moulded material or sheet metal.

The invention may be carried into practice in various ways but one construction according to the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the copyholder in its open position,

Figure 2 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale and partly broken away through the copyholder in its open position, and

Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 2 of the c'opyholder in its folded position.

In the construction illustrated the appliance comprises a rectangular sheet metal front plate A of rather larger dimensions than the page or book it is designed to support. Near its upper end two or more similar rectangular slots are formed in the plate through which project the front faces of rubber or like rollers B rigidly mounted on a rotatable spindle B mounted in bearings conveniently formed by rearwardly extending lugs A formed by bending backwards part of the material which originally occupied the space now forming the ends of the slots. The lugs A extend rearwardly sufficiently far to prevent the rubber rollers B becoming flattened by prolonged restin on a flat surface.

Pivoted to the spindle by hinge sockets engag ing the parts thereof between the rubber rollers is a rear plate C which is slightly narrower and shorter than the front plate A and is adapted to extend at an angle thereto when the device is in use so as to support the front plate in an inclined plane. Also formed in the front plate adjacent to its lower end is a slot A having lugs bent backwards from its ends to support a pivot pin D to which is pivoted a stay in the form of a plate E which passes through a slot C in the rear plate C and. is formed with slots or notches D adapted to engage corresponding shoulders in the slot C so as to lock the two plates A and C in any one of a number of relative angular positions for example that shown in Figures 1 and 2.

The ends of the spindle B carry knobs B by which the spindle can be rotated while a paper holder or like guide F having slotted lugs F at its ends is adapted to be detachably mounted on the upper end of the front plate with slots in its lugs engaging the spindle 13- between the sides of the front plate and the knobs B so as to maintain a sheet or sheets of paper inserted between the front plate A and the paper holder F in close contact with the rubber rollers B. As shown the paper holder is conveniently provided with a scale corresponding for example to the scale on a typewriter indicating the spacing of the letters while a rod F extends between the slotted lugs F so as to lie as shown on the opposite side of the front plate A to the body of the paper holder F.

A book support comprising a metal plate G with a rearwardly extending lug G adapted to pass through the slot A is also provided.

When the copyholder is used to support a softcovered stenographic notebook the guide F may be reversed so that the rod F lies in front of the plate A and the notebook may then be suspended over the top of the plate A with a. few pages inserted between the plate and the rod F which thus tends to hold them fiat, or in some cases the notebook may be suspended from the rod F itself, the completed pages being turned over in either case so as to hang down the back of the copyholder.

When folded the apparatus occupies the position indicated in Figure 3, the paper holder being reversed as indicated so as to hold the stay and hence the whole apparatus in its folded condition.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A copyholder comprising a front plate having rearwardly projecting bearing means near its upper end, a transverse slot between said bearing means, a rear plate, a slot in the lower portion of said rear plate, a horizontal pivot pin mounted in said bearing means and connecting said front and rear plates, a feed roller mounted on said pivot pin and projecting through the slot in said front plate, a detachable transverse and reversible paper holder with rearwardly projecting slotted attaching members near its ends, each adapted to slip over either end of said horizontal pivot pin and retain said paper holder against the forwardly projecting portion of said feed roller when positioned in front of said front plate and support said paper holder in a position spaced from said front plate when positioned in the rear thereof, and a tie plate pivoted to the front plate adjacent to the lower end thereof and extending rearwardly therefrom to engage the rear plate and lock the front and rear plates in angular relationship, said plates being adapted to fold into a substantially fiat and closely packed relationship in which position the free end of the tie plate extends through the slot in said rear plate upwardly to a point between said rear plate and '4 said transverse paper holder, when said paper holder is positioned behind said front plate.

2. A copyholder as claimed in claim 1 in which the front plate has a second lower slot, including a pivot for the tie plate on the front plate carried by lugs formed by bending back parts of the front plate at the end of said lower slot formed therein, and a book rest adapted to be detachably mounted on the front plate by means of a rearward extension passing through the said slot in the front plate.

3. A copyholder as claimed in claim 1 wherein supports for the pivot pin project rearwardly beyond the periphery of the feed roller.

4. A copyholder as claimed in claim 1 wherein the paper holder includes a transverse rod adapted to lie to the rear of the front plate when the paper holder is in its normal position and in front of front plate when the paper holder is in its reversed position.

EUGENE MURPHY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 542 809 Reid July 16, 1895 823,908 Whitaker June 19, 1906 1,564,594 I Leh Dec. 8, 1925 1,931,767 Malcolm Oct. 24, 1933 2,210,166 Edwards Aug. 6, 1940 

